In the news...

Headlines August 26, 2013

News:

Army Staff Sgt. Ty M. Carter, the latest recipient of the nation’s highest military honor, hopes to use the award to help others suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which has afflicted him since a 2009 battle in eastern Afghanistan that cost eight fellow soldiers their lives. President Obama awarded Carter the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony Aug. 26, making the 33-year-old from Washington State the fifth living recipient of the decoration for heroic actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Business:

The U.S. unit of British aerospace and defense manufacturer Meggitt Plc has agreed to pay up to $25 million to resolve hundreds of possible export control violations the company uncovered in a review of operations dating back to the mid-1990s, the U.S. State Department said Aug. 23.

Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, has reached an agreement in principle with the Pentagon on a contract to build 39 engines for a sixth batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, three sources familiar with the deal said Aug. 26. The agreement – which Pratt had expected to reach over a month ago – is valued at more than $1 billion, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Northrop Grumman is working through internal testing to upgrade sensors for its embattled Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft, trying to keep a variant of it alive while the Air Force continues to target it for cuts. The Air Force says its manned Cold War-era U-2s can do the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance job with a better sensor payload than the new Block 30 variant of the massive, high-altitude unmanned Global Hawks.

Imagine being able to conduct surveillance, deliver supplies and even extract troops from a riverine war zone without sending a boat operator into danger. Swiftships Shipbuilders LLC tested a prototype riverine vessel earlier this year that eventually will be fully autonomous. The goal of the company’s Project Anaconda is to have the autonomous watercraft ready in about 18 months, said Eric Geibel, the director of special programs for Swiftships.

BBA Aviation Plc, the world’s largest provider of bases for business jets, and aircraft leasing company Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Ltd. Said they are discussing a combination of parts of their business.

Defense:

Defense lawyers asked the judge in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunal on Aug. 23 to halt pretrial hearings in the 9/11 case until technicians fix a slew of computer and email problems they said had made it nearly impossible to do their work.

International:

Royal Navy vessels are being readied to take part in a possible series of cruise missile strikes, alongside the United States, as military commanders finalize a list of potential targets. Government sources said talks between the Prime Minister and international leaders, including Barack Obama, would continue, but that any military action that was agreed could begin within the next week.

Viewpoint:

The story of 25-year-old Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, now convicted of espionage, demoted and sentenced to 35 years at Fort Leavenworth prison, has taken a bizarre turn. In the same week, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a bearded jihadist wearing an Army uniform, sat in a Texas courtroom hearing evidence of his mass murder. Both cases raise similar questions: Did political sensitivities increase dangers that could have been avoided?

In 2012, the Department of Defense received $118 billion for weapons procurement. Next Next year, it will receive less than $100 billion — a lot less if the deficit-cutting mechanism called sequestration again kicks in. Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg Bloomberg News revealed last week that sequestration could drag down budget authority for weapons procurement by another 16 percent from the administration’s already reduced 2014 request, to a figure somewhere in the mid-eighty billions.

Local military discounts

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Italy resumes Navy exercise amid new tensions over Libya The Italian Navy is resuming exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, including near the coast of Libya, amid concerns about rapidly deteriorating security in the North African nation. The exercise began March 2 and includes anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-ship training operations. The exercise was suspended for a...

Ukraine will start pulling back heavy weapons in the east Ukraine’s military says it will start pulling back its heavy weapons from the front line with Russian-backed separatists as required under a cease-fire agreement. The Defense Ministry said in a statement Feb. 26 that it reserved the right to revise its withdrawal plans in the...

News: Army to send headquarters group to Kandahar in first sign of revision to Afghan withdrawal plan - In the first official sign that the Pentagon plans to keep a U.S. military presence in southern Afghanistan after this year, the Army is sending the 7th Infantry Division headquarters from Joint Base Lewis-McChord on a year-long deployment...

Lithuania restores compulsory military service Lithuania will restore compulsory military service for young men as tensions in Ukraine continue to worry the small Baltic nation, the government said Feb. 24. After a meeting of military leaders and top government officials, President Dalia Grybauskaite said the measure was necessary because of growing aggression in Ukraine. Military...

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